Japan Princess Wants Debate on Heir

Published 1:00 pm, Monday, April 25, 2016

Princess Kikuko said she supports a debate over allowing a female to assume the throne in Japan's monarchy, according to a report Monday, making her the first royal to do so publicly.

Only male heirs are allowed to become emperor in Japan, but the birth last month of a girl to Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako has sparked a debate over whether the newborn should be second in line to the world's oldest hereditary monarchy after her father.

In a two-page article in the popular women's magazine Fujin Koron, Princess Kikuko urged legal experts to seek ways to change a male-only restriction in the Imperial Household Law governing succession.

"What we have to ask legal experts is to study carefully how to deal with the first clause of the Imperial Household Law," wrote Kikuko, the 90-year-old widow of Prince Takamatsu. He was the brother of the late Emperor Hirohito, current Emperor Akihito's father.

The law drafted after World War II _ part of legal changes redefining Japan's emperor as a ceremonial leader _ imposed the men-only rule.

"A female imperial family member may possibly ascend the throne as 127th empress. It is not unnatural at all to see it happen and consider the possibility when we reflect upon Japan's long history," Kikuko wrote, emphasizing that Japan has had several reigning empresses. The most recent was Gosakuramachi in the 18th century.

The newborn _ Princess Aiko _ is Akihito's third granddaughter. Naruhito's younger brother has fathered two daughters. No male has been born in the imperial family since the 1960s.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other leaders have expressed guarded support for such a legal change. Recent surveys show more than 80 percent of people approve of a reigning empress.